From the 13th of December to the 3rd of January Bureau d’Espoir occupies the performance gallery ZSenne. With the 22 days ongoing performance ‘Battery’ in the street windows of the building in which two hope researchers test the power of the machine to turn dire circumstances into hopeful ones. And with the Natural History Museum of Hope: an active exhibition and performance installation in which visitors can come to exchange Hope Objects, browse through the Hope Library or have a sessions with the caretakers to read the Tarot of Hope with them.

The more adventurous visitors are also invited to join the performers in the battery, as test volunteers to try out different strategies of hope, developed by Bureau d’Espoir.The opening of Bureau d’Espoir takes places on the 13th of December from 19:00 onwards. This marks the start of the Hope Object Exchange, accompanied by The Hope Sessions, a sample concert using the material of hope interviews conducted over the last 5 months.

Next to these ongoing activities, Bureau d’Espoir also organizes lectures and concerts on the topic of Hope today.

Artists:

13 December – 3 Januaryevery weekday from 13:00 - 19:00weekends 12:00 - 18.00Natural History Museum of Hope: the gallery is open for visitors that want to bring in or exchange a Hope Object, have their Tarot of Hope read to them, visit the Hope Library, watch the Hope Sessions movie, or just have a cup of tea and a bit of quiet in the Christmas chaos.

ongoing: research performance of the Battery workers in the windows of the gallery

Fri, 13 Dec, from 19.00 onwardsOPENING EVENT: The Natural History Museum opens its doors. We invite you to come with a Hope Object: an object that you associate with hope, or that actively produces it in your life. This is also the moment the researchers of Bureau d’Espoir introduce their work, and the Battery researchers start on their 22 days of confinement in the Battery boxes in the windows of the gallery. At 8. 30 there is theHope Sessions concert, a musical sampling event of the materials developed in the hope sessions interviews conducted by Bureau d’Espoir in the last months. Throughout the evening we offer some heart warming drinks and a first experience of the anorexic food experiment.

Fri, 20 Dec, 18.00EVENT: Anorexic Dinner I, hosted by Rares CraiutIn the last years Bureau d’Espoir has been looking into different strategies to deal with the loss of control we experience in our relation to food. Global foor industry, the implosion of the local food markets, health issues and ethical questions keep us occupied all the time. In response to this feeling of loss of control Bureau d’Espoir has developed Hunger artist and Anorexic strategies.The anorexic dinners are an invitation to come and take part in the preparation and consummation of a dinner that tries to rethink the logics of our food consumption, and also make this an enjoyable experience.If you want to join a dinner, please write to hope@bureaudespoir.org

Sun, 22 Dec 2013EVENT: lecture Samuel Vriezen, the Location of Hope. Samuel Vriezen is a dutch pianist and composer and philosopher and will talk about the location of hope in poetry and music practices.CONCERT: Simon Loeffler is a Danish composer and performer. For Bureau d’Espoir he developed a silence concert, using the Battery boxes as amplifiers.

Thu, 26 Dec 2013 10.30-17.00WORKSHOP: garbage forensics: what does our waste tell us about ourselves and the priorities we put forward in our lives and our patterns of consuming. Various Artists takes you on an explorative journey. Inscribe through hope @bureaudespoir.org18.00EVENT: Trash movies: 2 movies dealing with the phenomenon of living on trash in Rio de Janeiro. More than a sketch of a phenomenon, these two movies lay bare the very diverse strategies of the movie makers and the artists involved.

Bureau d'Espoir would like to invite you to participate in THE HOPE SESSIONS, organized from Thursday, 29th of August until Sunday, 1st of September.THE HOPE SESSIONS is an interview project that will result in a movie that will be shown during the Bureau d'Espoir exhibition in ZSenne in December 2013.Set-up: During 72 hours Veridiana Zurita and Elke Van Campenhout will conduct one-on-one interviews about 'contemporary' hope. We ask each interviewee to come with a Hope Object, an object they consider hopeful. F.e. an object that produces hope when handled, an object that is a reminder of hope, an object that brings out the potential of the current moment, …. With a cup of tea or a little something stronger, we talk through the days and nights, mapping out hope in all its forms. Every session takes about 2 hours: an hour of talking and then an hour of constructing the collective image of hope. If you are willing to take part, please fill in your slot in the doodle, and don't forget to bring a Hope Object. We are looking forward to work with you. http://www.doodle.com/gkaqu59edh2zsihc

THE HOPE SESSIONS is run by Elke Van Campenhout, Veridiana Zurita and Marcelo Mardones, and is part of the work of Bureau d'Espoir, a long-term collective research project initiated by Elke Van Campenhout. Bureau d'Espoir will share the durational performance project Battery and the Natural History Museum of Hope during 22 days in ZSenne, december 2013.

Bureau d'Espoir is supported by a.pass, de Vlaamse Gemeenschap, ZSenne and VGC.